This undated publicity image released by The Weinstein Company shows, Christoph Waltz as Schultz, left, and Jamie Foxx as Django in the film, "Django Unchained," directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Cool killer Waltz highlight of 'Django'

By Tim Miller

tmiller@capecodonline.com

December 28, 2012 - 1:41 PM

The best reason to see “Django Unchained” can be summed up in two words: Christoph Waltz.

“Django,” which opens in 1858 Texas, is writer-director Quentin Tarantino's homage/spoof of Westerns and potboilers about slavery like “Mandingo” from the '60s and '70s, served up in much the same way Tarantino put his spin on World War II films with “Inglorious Basterds.”

It's a revisionist fantasy, in that, just as Jewish soldiers triumphed over Hitler and Co. in a big, violent way in “Basterds,” a black slave has the opportunity to give slave traders and the like a taste of their own medicine in “Django.”

Jamie Foxx plays the title character, the slave who is freed and on a mission to save his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), from sadistic plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Though Foxx is the hero and DiCaprio chews up the scenery like nobody's business as the despicable villain, Waltz – an Oscar winner for “Basterds” – dominates the movie as the cool, gentlemanly German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz.

Schultz is the one who frees Django (“the D,” Django says, “is silent”) by nonchalantly shooting two slave traders, killing one and wounding the other, and buying Django from the survivor.

The former dentist, who rides around in a cart with a giant molar on top, makes a deal with his new companion: If Django identifies three outlaws the bounty hunter is trailing, Schultz will help Django locate Broomhilda.

Schultz is a fascinating character. He despises slavery, but compares bounty hunting, his chosen field, to it by saying it too is “a flesh for cash business.” He doesn't seem to enjoy killing, but he doesn't hesitate to gun down his prey – it makes his work easier.

He has the ability to initiate the most precarious of situations, only to defuse them by speaking to potential enemies with logic and reason.

It's the kind of role that, many years ago, soft-spoken, witty Peter Lorre would have had a field day with, but it's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job than Waltz does here. It's one of the year's most entertaining performances, and it's easily the highlight of Tarantino's film.

The rest of the movie – shot by great cinematographer and Cape native Robert Richardson – isn't up to the standards of the filmmaker's best work. The splattering blood as bullets fly into bodies is overdone; the scenes of slaves being whipped, torn about by dogs, etc., while arguably necessary, are too depressing for such a slight, often comical story; and the story drags on a little too long.

Plus, the casting seems a bit off. Foxx is OK as the tough hero, but he's overshadowed by Waltz; perhaps Will Smith – despite his appearance in the abysmal “Wild Wild West” – could have held his own better as a more charismatic hero. And DiCaprio goes way over the top as the villain. The compelling character actor Walton Goggins, of TV's “Justified,” relegated to a thankless role as a Candie henchman here, would have been more convincingly menacing – and much more compelling – as the plantation owner.

But there are some nice Tarantino touches, like his anachronistic, moving use of Jim Croce's “I Got a Name” on the soundtrack as the newly freed Django – now that rarity in this place and period, a black man on horseback – and Schultz ride through rocky terrain. With Waltz in the mix, “Django Unchained” is definitely worth a look.